Popeye the Sailor Man owes his famous human strength from eating spinach. Dog owners have always been complaining about the pet’s obnoxious habit of eating feces. Do dogs consider poop as their power food?

The dog’s habit of eating their own and other animal’s poop certainly did not arise from lack of food. Dog owners would not mind paying for pricey high quality commercial food as long as the pet’s health is guaranteed. Dog owners make sure that the pet have enough food. Dog owners would even go against the advice of dog behaviorists not to feed the dog before they have their meal so as not to encourage the pet to develop a pushy behavior. Dogs definitely do not eat feces because they are hungry.

Feral dogs were noted to be feces eaters and it was believed that the habit was handed down to present day dogs. The feces eating habit is associated with the dog’s self protection instinct. In the wild, dogs need to conceal their presence from their predators. Animals are noted for their heightened senses and the smell of feces will announce the location of the dogs. What can be a better way of removing all traces of the dog than eating the feces. Generally, modern day dogs live safe and secure inside the homes thus there is no need to hide from predators. However, the self preservation instinct will kick in from time to time so that dogs will annoy the owners by eating poop.

Apparently, dogs have the knack of knowing what is not right in their system. When dogs have eaten something that does not agree with the stomach, these animals would simply munch grasses and leaves to induce vomiting. Dogs that are fed poor quality commercial food that are mainly cereal fillers will eat their own feces in an effort to fill up the nutrient deficiency not provided by the food.

Dogs are social animals that would crave interaction with humans or with other pets thus an owner would make sure to devote some time to bond with the pet. Some dog owners don’t have time for the pet and others simply do not care. Dogs that are left at home all day would either be destructive or would do something to gain the attention of the family. An owner of a poop eating dog will be annoyed at the pet’s disgusting behavior but a dog would appreciate being reprimanded rather than be ignored.